Lieutenant Brad Snyder, who won a pair of Paralympic gold medals within a year of losing his sight, will carry the American flag at the closing ceremonies of the 2012 Paralympic Games in London on Sunday evening.
Snyder, who won the S11 100 free and 400 free, and also took a silver in the 50 free, over the last 10 days, culminating with that 400 free gold a year to the date of the IED explosion in Afghanistan that took his sight.
“To be able to come out here and to keep in the fight and keep going and keep inspiring, and keep perpetuating some goodwill for our country means a lot. And to be able to carry that flag for my team (tomorrow)… that's probably the best thing to come away from this experience,” Snyder said of the honor.
Snyder was able to cross-over into the major media circles better than any other American Olympian at these games, because his story combined a political hot-button topic with Paralympic success. The American swimmers combined for 41 medals, 14 of them gold, to place 4th in the overall medal table.